5 key numbers from Iowa football's victory over Purdue

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IOWA CITY — The Iowa football team won its third straight game on Nov. 14, beating Purdue 28-7 at Kinnick Stadium.

The Hawkeyes have now won nine in a row under the lights at Kinnick, dating to 2022.

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Here are five numbers that tell the story of how the Hawkeyes earned the win.

246: Iowa's total rushing yards

Iowa's run game was the difference-maker in this game, outrushing the Boilermakers, 246 to 99. Iowa's defense held Purdue to 3.5 average yards per carry, while the Hawkeyes averaged 5.6.

L.J. Phillips led the way with 123 yards on 23 carries, followed by Xavier Williams with 55 on four carries.

One surprising rusher on Saturday: quarterback Hank Brown. He carried 10 times for 32 yards and is seemingly becoming more confident in his running ability after scoring a rushing touchdown two weeks in a row.

44: Braeden Jackson's TD catch-and-run

Jackson has touchdowns in back-to-back games. Last week he returned a kickoff for a score. Against Purdue he caught the Hawkeyes' longest touchdown pass of the year (44 yards). Jackson caught a pass from Hank Brown on the far left side of the field near the Purdue sideline, broke a tackle, then ran across the field as he picked up a few blocks, entering the right corner of the end zone with five seconds remaining in the first half.

Jackson finished as Iowa's leading receiver, with 61 yards on four catches. He had 55 yards on four carries as a rusher, and picked up 12 yards on a kick return.

1: Zach Lutmer's first interception of the season

Lutmer picked off Purdue QB Ryan Browne in the end zone with about a minute to go in the third quarter. It was his first interception of the year.

Lutmer finished the game as the leading tackler for the Hawkeyes, with 10. He recorded six of them solo.

13-for-29: Opponents on 3rd or 4th down and short vs. Iowa

Iowa's defense is holding opposing offenses to a 44.8% success rate on 3rd or 4th down and 2 yards or less, which is 4th-best in FBS. That stat courtesy of the NBC telecast.

Purdue was 5-of-11 on third down and 0-for-2 on fourth down Saturday.

5:21: Iowa's first (and only) punt of the game

If you've been following social media, you might know that Australian-born punter Boston Everitt's father had a crazy time trying to get to Iowa City due to the FAA ground stop on Friday. He flew 22 hours from Australia, but got stopped at Denver at the time of the shutdown.

Everitt's dad eventually made it to Iowa City, in a car, 11 hours later.

With how successful the offense was Saturday, it wasn't clear if Everitt would even get on the field. But with 5:21 remaining in the game, the Hawkeyes were forced to punt. Everitt's kick from Purdue's 37-yard line was fair-caught at the 11.

All in all, a successful trip for Mr. Everitt. He got to see his son play, and he enjoyed a Hawkeye victory.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: 5 key numbers from Iowa football's victory over Purdue

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